In the first lecture of the university’s Great Decisions Program, visiting professor Stephen Zunes described the ongoing issues facing the Middle Eastern countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan as rapidly deteriorating and in need of urgent and responsible military and political action by the United States.
A distinguished professor of political science and international studies, Zunes explained that American attempts to spread democracy to the region and eliminate the influence of the Taliban have been largely unsuccessful. He said a major problem currently facing the region is the lack of a respected government authority and that Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, is often referred to as the mayor of Kabul, because his influence rarely extends beyond the Afghan capital.
“The people of Afghanistan historically respect strong leaders who can at minimum deliver some security and economic stability,” said Zunes, who noted that the quality of life for most Afghans has only worsened since the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001.
Zunes said the lack of central government authority and an ineffective U.S. military approach within the region has quickly led to the resurgence of the Taliban’s presence. The opium trade and corruption within the government’s cabinet are also important pieces.
Zunes explained that 92 percent of the world’s illegal heroin comes out of Afghanistan.
“Opium cultivation is out of control, but because many of these drug lords are intertwined with warlords that hold office in the cabinet, the United States has been hesitant against taking a stand against the opium trade,” Zunes said. “But we don’t hear about this a lot because the Bush administration was largely in denial about the whole situation.”
“The United States has largely dismissed President Karzai’s wishes to rethink its approach to Afghanistan,” Zunes said. “This is the context in which the Taliban is making a comeback.”
“The Taliban is coming back into the country from Pakistan, and the United States government has yet to really address the issue fully,” Cecil Mills, senior in political science, said. “It will be interesting to see if in the future the people of Afghanistan try to move forward with the current regime in power or if they turn back to the Taliban to try and improve their country.”
Mills is interested in watching how President Obama handles the sensitive situation in the region.
“I would like to know how Obama plans to deal with the growing presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as staying true to his belief that we need to find a way to get all of our troops home as soon as possible,” Mills said.
Despite the many challenges the United States has to contend with, Zunes believes that the new Obama administration has an opportunity to reexamine both the approach and goals of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
�At minimum, Afghanistan should never be a sanctuary for major terrorist organizations,� Zunes said. �We need to think about what our goals are.